New Zealand has 92 seabird and 14 shorebird species and subspecies (taxa). We have the highest number of endemic seabirds (found only in a particular area) in the world. Nearly 25 percent of the world’s seabird species breed in the New Zealand region, and almost 10 percent only breed here. Seabirds and shorebirds tend to be at or near the top of the food chain, and thrive only if the marine ecosystem is healthy. Decreasing bird populations can signal that the ecosystem is degrading.
This dataset relates to the "Conservation status of seabirds and shorebirds" measure on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao Aotearoa website.